If the Supreme Court is setting up the country for another
gotcha decision, then it is critical for the main stream media to make loud and
emphatic proclamations asserting that the decision could go either way. The universal meme in the main stream media
that says the fellow with the swing vote is impossible to second guess in
advance was ubiquitous last week and Americans believed it. GMAFB; TV personalities stand ready to go on camera
and pontificate on any subject at any time and then suddenly they all
balk? Isn't there something very fishy
with that? Will this be seen by future
historians as the key to the strategy that calls for a repeat of the "leave the
decision with the clerk and then get out of Washington on the night before the results
are announced" game plan? If gay
marriages are found to be unconstitutional, will the journalists be required to
say "no one saw this coming" and then move onto other matters clamoring for the
attention of America's
various managing editors?

Does anyone honestly believe that seasoned veteran
journalists don't have any strong hunches about the final result? Do the news reporters with many years
experience in covering the United States Supreme Court really have no
background material available to provide (at the very least) an educated guess
at which way the guy is going to vote?

If American journalists really wanted to fulfill their
mission, they could couch the story by reminding voters that the Supreme Court
has done that previously and that the current landmark case is the golden
opportunity for the Conservative Christian majority group to strike a blow
against a trend that they perceive to be an abomination against nature.

So what if some obscure columnist points out the absurdity
of this attempt to set the public up for an "up yours" ending for the current
Supreme Court session?

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This weekend the talking heads political analysis shows will
want to look like they are scrutinizing the Yemen crisis and the Saudi Royal
family history but (odds are) if you listen closely you will (mixed metaphor
alert!) see that they just repeat the basic facts and make it seem like they
are examining all pertinent information.

If the so called Mid-East experts don't mention the part
that WWI events played in the history of the Saudi Royal family will it just
seem to be an in-depth analysis?

It wouldn't be very entertaining if the experts said: "We haven't read 'The Seven Pillars of
Wisdom' by T. E. Lawrence and so we don't have a clue as to what's going
on." Wouldn't that be too much honesty
for TV?

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So if they can appear to be extremely well informed about
the history of the Saudi Royal family but the reporters who have covered the
United State Supreme Court for years can say they have no clue as to how the
Republican majority body will decide, are you really going to believe that?

Did Winston Churchill (and FDR?) pressure the Saudi Royal
family to produce more oil during WWII?
Did they Saudis refine oil and sell it directly to the British Navy
operating in the Mediterranean? (Just asking.) If someone offers to give a complete
background briefing (between ad breaks) shouldn't they deliver what they promised?

This weekend under-inflated footballs, inoculations for the
measles, and the fate of two hostages who are scheduled to be executed should
provide some excellent examples of "red Herring news." It is information meant to throw citizens off
the trail that they ware following to become well informed voters.

Speaking of used car salesmen, Charles Willeford titled his
book about a used car salesman, "The High Priest of California." Is "Go see Cal" just an L. A. thing?

Where were we?

Oh, yes, . . . Should the USA
send troops to maintain a new puppet government in Yemen?

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How realistic is it to ask a Republican majority led
Congress and Senate to tax the rich and give tax breaks to the middle class?

The pundits are unanimous in the opinion that the Senate and
Congress will pay little attention to the words of President's state of the
union speech on Tuesday of this week.
That will be good practice if Obama decides to become a political pundit
and write columns after his term expires.

Surrealism in action in Paris?
Is it true that some of the leading existentialist philosophers in France are postulating that the attack on the
Charlie Hebdo magazine offices was an indication that the surrealists have
returned to Paris?

BP graduated from college in the mid sixties (at the bottom of the class?) He told his draft board that Vietnam could be won without his participation. He is still appologizing for that mistake. He received his fist photo lesson from a future (more...)